An Armenian national was extradited from Ukraine to the United States on June 18, facing federal charges for his alleged involvement in a ransomware extortion scheme that hit companies across the country, including a tech business in Oregon. Karen Serobovich Vardanyan, 33, is charged with conspiracy, fraud in connection with computers, and extortion in connection with computers following his transfer.
A second Armenian national, Levon Georgiyovych Avetisyan, 45, faces similar charges and is currently the subject of a U.S. extradition request in France, while two Ukrainian nationals, Oleg Nikolayevich Lyulyava and Andrii Leonydovich Prykhodchenko, both 53, are also charged but have not been apprehended. Court documents reveal that from March 2019 to September 2020, the group allegedly deployed Ryuk ransomware, a malware that encrypts victims' data, demanding ransom in Bitcoin to unlock it, the Justice Department reported on its website.
The Ryuk strain of ransomware has been a scourge for thousands of entities worldwide, inflicting significant disruption across sectors such as private industries, state and local governments, education, critical infrastructure, and hospitals and healthcare services. As a result of these cyberattacks, victims found themselves cut off from essential data and impeded in their communications capabilities.
Vardanyan's alleged cyber exploits netted around 1,610 bitcoins in ransom payments, valued at over $15 million, the charging documents note. Making his first federal court appearance on June 20, Vardanyan pleaded not guilty and is currently detained ahead of a seven-day jury trial scheduled for August 26. "If convicted, Vardanyan faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, three years’ supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 for each count," as stated in the indictment, per the Justice Department.
